The tittle itself, what's the difference?

I am a fairly experienced lucid dreamer and I've been trying to AP for a while. I just had my most AP-like experience.

I was in a normal dream, talking to some dream characters in my bedroom. At this point I realized I was dreaming because of some earlier events that occurred in the dream.

I explained this to the dream characters, arriving at the conclusion that this is a dream. This was a mistake, since in my experience, dream characters get very mad when I tell them I am dreaming and they usually start attacking me.

One of them stands up over me as I'm lying in my bed and began getting angry. His torso expands and begins to envelop me. Realizing that I'm now in a nightmare, I do my "trick" where I can shut my eyes tight and open them up to wake myself out of my nightmare.

But then, instead of waking up, I was in total darkness, except for a faint glow of light I could see through my eyelids. My body was vibrating and it was very noisy. I "felt" something enter the room and approach me, crawling onto my bed and whisper my name into my ear.

I felt awake and aware. Understanding that weird shit happens in the transition phase, I allowed it to happen, though I could then feel myself curl into a ball to protect myself from whatever this creepy thing whispering in my ear was.

Then I stood up, but something pushed me straight back down. So I continued vibrating and listening to the weird noises a while longer while this creepy entity was still wandering on my bed.

I tried again, and this time I stood up successfully. Still with my eyes closed, I navigated to my dresser and held onto it. I opened my eyes. I could see the sunrise, and I turned around and could faintly see myself in my bed, under the covers.

I walked to the living room. My cat acknowledged me, wanting to get fed. I could see the pink sky of the sunrise, and the lighting inside my home was a faint blue haze.

I started questioning if it was AP or a lucid dream. It really didn't feel like a lucid dream. My body felt... liquid. The whole atmosphere was ethereal. I tried to jump out of the ceiling, but instead jumped and touched the ceiling and fell back down softly.

I noticed a creepy doll standing in the hallway. I concluded that this was the weird thing whispering in my ear earlier so I kicked it out of existence. I walked to the other side of my home, turned around and looked at my cat.

I was still confused if it was AP or a lucid dream, or if I was actually awake in real life and just tripping. I don't know how to differentiate them, though when I'm lucid dreaming, I know instantly. This felt like real life but in some sort of ethereal realm. So I asked my cat how I get out of here and I remembered I could just re-enter my body.

I walked back into my room but the bed was empty. I jumped on to the bed where my body "would" be. Nothing happened. I then stood on the edge of the bed, fell down onto my back, and closed my eyes. Weird sensations and noises followed for a few seconds and I woke up in my bed, back in real life.

I think it was it. It sure didn't feel like a dream. But I understand that during AP you should see yourself? I only saw a lump under the covers at the beginning, and then later when I came back, the bed was empty. What's the deal?

Thank you for reading :)

I decided to visit a Jurassic World forest (with ambient music and everything).

After 18 minutes, I entered sleep paralysis, and I imagined myself falling into my heart chakra to let go even deeper. I felt myself "falling" and my body becoming really heavy, as if my eyes were losing focus. I visualized myself as a single point of consciousness.

I imagined various scenes. At one point, I visualized myself in my bed, rotating my legs, and then being on the island. And at one moment, I felt paws on me. A weight.

Result: I felt my ego experience fear, but I managed to push past it!

So I recently had an obe dream now the dream started with me dying in the dream I ended up In this sorta castle like building it was blue/white/pink and there was a princess/queen there? Idk but the princess/queen told me there would be a reward if I help her kill these negative spirits and so I charged at the spirits without thinking and they knocked me down than they said 'where gonna scatter all of your swords across the astral and you have 2 find them now the princess/queen felt bad and guilty that that happened 2 me and I belive it was aither her or the spirits or gave me the map 2 where they all are and than I went 2 a separate room in the castle and I seen a woman there and I asked here ""have you seen any of my swords""and she said yes and guided me 2 a wall and it opened with a box and a key it needed 2 be unlocked by now im just wondering if I was there or not or if this was a dream also the princess/queen told me there would be a reward if I kill them if I have not said this before in the text anyways have a Good day/night people and GL on your obe's

I’ve been practicing astral projection and I’ve been wondering how people distinguish between genuinely experiencing the astral and their own mind filling in or controlling parts of the experience.

When I’m there, sometimes I feel very immersed and things seem to happen completely randomly or unexpectedly. Other times, I feel like my mind is actively controlling what’s happening around me, i talk to a spirit sometimes (a safe one dw!) and i've actively communicated with them many times, but when i talk to them I experience their responses as a voice in my head. It doesn’t feel exactly like my own thoughts, but at the same time, I can’t always tell whether I’m imagining his responses or if they feel like they’re coming from them independently.

So how do you personally tell the difference between astral projection and your mind creating the experience? and is there a point where you can tell that something is happening independently of your own imagination?

Hi everyone!

For almost a year now, I’ve been trying to successfully do an AP without much success—except for one time where I managed to reach heavy vibrations (though I got scared and backed out).

I usually wake up early in the morning so I have quiet time to practice. Today, like every day, I started my meditation with the objective to do an AP. But something really strange happened, and I can't figure out if I actually fell asleep or if it was real:

I felt intense vibrations, but it felt like I was lying on the opposite side of my bed and I clearly remember that it was a night time. It was bizarre because several dream-like things occurred at the same time, yet the physical sensation of the vibration felt completely real. Afterwards, I woke up, which makes me think it must have been a dream.

Has anyone else ever experienced "dreaming" the vibration stage?

(Hope I explained myself well, sorry english is my second language)

Last night I was lying in bed, not really sleepy just trying to relax my body. I started getting this like VOOMP sound go through my brain and it made my ears like pop idk how else to describe it. It happened a couple times before I started to feel like I’m floating. Like I don’t feel my body anymore I’m just gone. And im being soft launched through these open spaces kinda, withe like voted tunnels things. Best I can describe they look like the trippy stuff you see in videos like Alex grey type shit with the patterns and stuff. Anyway I’m going through it then I meet like this entity. It to me kind of looked like the level 3 monster in back rooms. He looks down at me and smiles and grabs me and puts me back into my body. I hear the noise and my ears pop and again before I jolt awake. It was crazy it felt like I was literally put back in my body. I never experienced anything like that. I didn’t know where I was for a min. I thought OBE was like you see yourself in the third person. What happened to me?

Reddit suggested this thread instead so I’ll try this

good morning everyone! I have gotten permission from my friend to tell this story here so we can get some answers so i’ll just get right into it.
yesterday my friend (who ill call gina) told me she had a weird experience that she thought could have been an asteral projection she told me that she fell asleep for a nap probs around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, a little while later she woke up briefly and could barely open her eyes (take note that gina has struggled with having scary sleep paralysis experiences most nights and a few days before this happened i started telling her about astral projection) noticing that this is usually what happens when she gets sleep paralysis she tried an exit technique (specifically trying to pull herself upwards out of her body) and next thing she knew she was out. once she was out she immediately started seeing beetles all over the frame of her bed and she says she saw a plant that was not there in the real world with an egg in it where the beetles were coming from, she than walked downstairs to where me and my sister were playing uno (in real life) and as she walked downstairs to ask us to help her, me and my sister just stared at her with no expression on our faces and said nothing, she thought to herself “whatever this is useless i’m going back upstairs if you guys aren’t gonna help me” and the second she went to walk upstairs, she woke up. craziest thing is, that when she came to tell me about this experience i was coming to tell her that i thought she was coming downstairs bc i was aware of her presence coming down and me and my sister actually did stare right at where she was standing asking us to help. i wonder if she would have stayed down there longer and not been freaked out by us staring at her if she would have seen us look away and continue playing uno or something different, but it seems to me like my soul recognized her astral body being there but who knows, any explanation will be greatly appreciated!
(edit-also take note this all lasted probs a few minutes only and she also thought it was way later than it actually was in the real world she was also very confused and didn’t pay much attention to detail like not knowing how it felt and all)

I lay down and meditate, but i just get stuck at the vibrational state even 40 mins in, when i first started i had a sensation like i was falling or losing something. My anxiety held me back from actually going through with it, now I can’t even reach that state. Any tips?

I got into deep meditation lately and also i was reading Jung’s redbook. I could get anything for days till one day after 30 minutes of deep dark i saw i was in a cave looking at a wall where a giant wolfhead cried from the wall. An Old woman grabbed me and stabbed my arm, lot of blood came out. Y was dressed in a white cotton and suddenly I was covered in blood and while i was looking at it i saw many littles black wolves around me following me. I went outside there was a wood i started to feel sick so I got on my knee and vomited a dead squirrel. I got so angry that the wood started to burn around me. Looked above me and I saw a giant white piramid reversed toward me in the sky, then it appeared a giant white wolf that came and helped me get up and we went away together…I saw vivid images all the time. I wasn’t sleeping and I almost vomited…what was that? Lucid dream or astral projection?

Hey everyone. I unintentionally astral projected a few hours ago and it was very intense. There was a ton of telepathic communication going on with everyone around me in another realm. I was walking around a university and was able to pick up on everyone’s thoughts, but it was too overwhelming for me. I was also able to communicate with my partner that was asleep next to me telepathically. My mind is a bit blurry trying to remember every detail so bear with me. I also saw the earth and the sun it was like I was overlooking it. I have astral projected once but was only able to get to the door in my room. This is the second time and I wasn’t even in my room this time, it was like I teleported to these other places. Upon waking up I feel very disconnected from earth. Kind of like a “wow this is the reality I’m stuck in, when there’s so much more than this”. I’ve always felt that we are all one, a collective. It just kinda sucks that we’re stuck in this shell of a body. I wonder how many others feel this way. How do you guys ground yourselves after coming back from astral projecting? I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts and experiences!

Hey all!

I've been in and out of AP attempts, had a short spurt where I was easily able to get into the pre stage but fell out of it and decided to just go with the flow when it happens.

Was on vacation the other day out of state sleeping in a tent, woke up around 10am and decided to sleep a bit more. Ended up having the most intense vibrations I've ever felt, like 1000 bouncy balls blasting around inside me at high speeds and stretching my skin out like a cartoon before bouncing to the other side. Surprisingly this didn't alarm me or anything and I went with the flow.

After a bit I felt like I was in the prime state to project and felt maybe two entities guiding me with their hands on my arms. I mentally yelled "help me out!" as I tried to push through. Felt like I was in a wind tunnel fighting to stay with it. After moments they let me go (felt the loss of presence, weird but it was tangible) and I floated down a bit and poofed into an area where I could practice floating around.

I could raise my forearms up to float upwards and face them down to return back down. Did this for a little while until it lost its effectiveness, can't remember the environment at all but I eventually woke up.

It felt like if I could have ridden the vibrational wave farther I could have gone into a deeper AP experience, but once my helpers let go I couldn't sustain that level and fell into a lower state. This is the first time I can confidently say I felt other entities helping me go, even though when I asked for more help they quickly let me go. I was kinda annoyed at that haha.

Also felt pretty dream like so could have just spit me into a lucid dreamlike state, not sure.

Just wanted to share and say it's possible even if you let it go for a while and don't try, the time will be right when it's right. I'm excited to continue trying now that I know my new upper limit!

Ive been trying to astral project for about 3 days so far first day didn't really have any progress second day i started shaking and would uncontrollable shake and nonvolenary like jerk back to my body then today i decided to try during the day because i saw somewhere that it can be easier to do than at night BC Ur tired and what not anyway i covered my eyes to make it pitch black i tried it and felt like i was locked like i felt like i could move but couldn't at the same time its really weird felt like i was going there but like chained to my body if that makes sense plz help

edit i sleep with 2 fans on could noise lowky be keeping me in my body? also i listen to music alot sometimes lowky in my head anyway when im tryna AP the lyrics just like flow in could this be why do i needa focus harder

another edit i tried it agian and this time i tried to focus on the like you know stuff u see when your eyes closed and turning it into 3d and i did do that but like i couldnt look around really nor did i feel like i ap

also could someone be watching me and stopping me from it ?? lowky feel prim locked rn

So I’ve studied astral projection and lucid dreaming for some time let me explain what’s happening to me
It works best during the day time like a mid afternoon nap I’ll lay down close eyes not moving a muscle
I’ll get a feeling after about 10 mins to move my foot or readjust or move my arm and I’ll ignore it and remain completely still
Then after another 10mins aprox I’ll start to feel a lifting sensation of my whole body and a euphoric feeling like a buzzing sensation it intensifies and then dissipates
Then after a feel moments the lifting sensation comes back with the strong euphoria stronger then the previous time
Then it disapates and after a few moments it comes back again
The feeling best described feels like I’m attached to a harness that’s lifting me up by my chest
When I feel I’m being lifted up the euphoria is very intense
After like 3 or 4 cycles of the feeling coming and going all while I’m laid completely still it comes back stronger than before sometimes I hear noises sometimes I start to see stuff and it feels like I’m almost there
Every time I’m on like the 4th of 5th feeling of being lifted and euphoria something happens where I get scared or snap myself out of it and I move and wake up
Has anyone else ever felt this? Is there something I’m missing? How do u remain calm and not scared? It almost feels like if I can get to the 5th or 6th cycle I’ll be blasted into some craziness
Thanks this is a genuine ask for advice

I've experienced something unusual for as long as I can remember, probably since I was around four years old. It's incredibly difficult to explain, but it feels like I perceive the world in two distinct visual modes. Nothing in my surroundings actually changes, yet the overall way everything looks and feels subtly shifts. It's almost like changing the camera angle in a video game without moving any of the objects. The environment stays the same, but my perception of it is different. I can usually switch between these two modes almost instantly, sometimes without even realizing it.

When I was younger, the second mode felt much more natural, especially when I was at school, while home was associated with the first. I could stay in either state effortlessly. As I've gotten older, I can still switch, but remaining in the second mode has become more difficult. Oddly, everything feels more vivid, clear, and somehow easier to process when I'm in that second perspective.

The strangest part is the emotional effect. Whenever I stay in that second mode, I feel an intense wave of nostalgia, almost as if I'm reconnecting with childhood memories or a forgotten way of experiencing the world. Sometimes I can trigger the shift simply by imagining one of the perspectives, and occasionally a small hand movement seems to help me stay in it. This only affects my visual perception and the atmosphere of what I see. It doesn't involve hallucinations or objects changing shape. It's more like the entire scene carries a different feeling or quality.

I've never been able to explain this properly, and people usually think I'm imagining things. Has anyone else experienced something similar or know what this might be? Someone also told me to start Gateway Tapes or AP. Should I? Any tips, explanations, or things I should know before looking into this would be greatly appreciated.

Hola chicos espero que estén bien ,durante un tiempo me interesaron los temas de sueños lúcidos ,creo que los he logrado ,pero me están llamando la atención los viajes astrales ,quisiera saber cómo lograrlos pero para algo en específico ,en mi país desapareció una chica lleva creo que 6 años desaparecida ,por algún motivo algo de mi ,necesita saber que le pasó ,apesar de no haberla conocido nunca ,existe alguna manera de reencontrarme con ella y me diga que le ocurrió ?

I've gotten there three times, but the last two were intentional. I always just set intentions, let go, daydream to sleep, and just let myself be woken up by the sensations. The first few times i just wanted to make myself familiar with the sensations, after my second time I wanted to make it official and fully AP.

First time: I felt completely weightless and was swaying back and forth pretty intensely, almost like someone was shaking me and my head was moving with it. My whole body had strong vibrations (especially in the upper body, and even more at the back of my head), but unlike the last experience, it didn't feel spooky at all. Everything was dark, but it felt... normal.

Second time (the day afterthat day): I woke up already in the sensations again. This time, instead of the back-and-forth motion, I felt weightless and like I was being tossed around like a ball. It was a lot more overwhelming, and everything was dark again. Then I heard a growl, which scared me. It was probably just a hallucination or something, but it was enough to stop me from trying again that day. Btw, i never feel my body, i feel vibrations but weirdly i dont feel my body. I feel myself like...my body is air, and that air is being tossed around, maybe out of control since its the first time its out?

These last few days: after that second time, i was definitely tired, but I was also excited to try again. Nothing happened, though. I think maybe it's because I got woken up early that morning. Later, I did my usual stuff, took a nap around 1 p.m., set my intentions, and still nothing happened. I took a break for a few days. After that i kept trying, Its been maybe a week or two of me trying now, and i either just fall asleep or maintain awake.

I don't really know why its not happening. I was honestly looking forward to it. Out of desperation, I kind of made up my own method, lol, and so far it had been working. My method was to go to bed, without touching, make pressure inbetween my eyebrows and tell my subconscious my intentions. After that just fall asleep and let myself be awoken by the sensations. And since the whole point is to not expect anything and let my body fall asleep by daydreaming and eventually wake up when the time is right due to vibrations, im just falling asleep with no vibrations or anything.

Edit: I would never enter the Void in the night even if i set intentions, only when i woke up subtly at aprox 5am and set intentions again with the pressure due to maybe the chickens making sound outside or something im not sure.

Been a while since I visited this sub but I've been taking a break from AP but this morning I thought I'd go ahead and do it. I was in between sleep and awake and felt the vibrations and everything. Usually I hear some sort of tune/music before I exit my body. I heard that. But in between that I heard "Don't, don't, don't" in several different voices before I could get out of my body and it kinda scared me back in.

Early this morning around 3AM I woke up from a dead sleep terrified for no reason. Like something was watching me. Me and my gf have both been experiencing these bouts of dread like something has been watching us especially from the bathroom. I've had some weird stuff happening in my apartment lately. Paranormal unexplained things. But I felt like something was trying to warn me not to astral project this morning.

This experience probably exists more in the Lucid dream world, however due to the nature of the characters as described below, i wonder if it has an astral element.

*Also because i used the word astral below i wasn't allowed to post in lucid dream thread.
** Also Also, i feel people with astral experience typically have more open minds to exploring metaphysical ideas beyond Jungian psychoanalysis, etc..

In the dream i was in an undercover car park cleaning graffiti off a wall. Realising this was not something i typically do in my daytime reality, i became lucid.
Knowing that once we start manipulating dreams, the characters found in the dream usually start "malfunctioning", meaning, the roles they play usually start glitching - So i decided to be "undercover", keep playing along with the role and see what happens...

After a while of cleaning, it was time for a lunch break and we all (about 6 of us) went up onto street level and entered a cafe. We were sitting down at the table with a waitress taking orders when i decided i'd had enough of this generic story line. when the waitress asked me what i wanted i jumped up and said in a fun comical kind of manner, "I don't want anything because this is just a dream". All the dream characters did their usual thing and started looking confused. I decided it was time to start exploring. As I turned to leave the cafe, a group of people dressed in black (almost matrix style) came running around the corner and stopped me.

I was very confused, because as previously described, once revealing lucid control of dream the characters usually don't get too involved. The people said they had to gather my information and started scanning me with some device. Feeling really uncomfortable with what was going on, i moved my awareness fully into my heart space to disolve the dream, a technique that has worked 100% of the time, even in the most foreign astral adventures. As i did this, nothing happend, they kept scanning me. After a moment, i flipped 180 degrees from love in my heart space, directly into fear. I needed an abort button and so somehow i turned myself into sand and then sieved through the cracks in the floor and woke up.

Has anyone else had aware beings' function outside the usual control of Lucid dream characters? - would it then almost assume it as an astral plane?